Sensual Feng Shui

A room-by-room guide to a home that pleases all your senses

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What would your house look like if the hottest lover you ever had was coming over? Whatever image just popped into your head, whatever actions you would take--your house should look like that all the time just for you. That's what Sensual Feng Shui experts Barbara Carrellas and Terah Collins have to say-- and we couldn't agree more. Sensual Feng Shui is about designing your home with ALL your senses in mind: a home that stimulates the eye, soothes the ears, enlivens the tastebuds, pleases the nose, and carresses the body. Design that satisfies your every need is the essence of luxury. Here, the guide to Sensual Feng Shui and the home that rejuvenates, stimulates, and satiates in every way.

"When your personal space is filled with things that nourish, satisfy, and indulge you, it takes on the 'YES' principle," says Collins. "The more that the things you live with say YES to you, the more they restore and rejuvenate you." —Terah Collins author, The Western Guide to Feng Shui, Room by Room

Furniture

Of course color, pattern and style matter, but make final purchase decisions about furniture based on how it feels. When shopping at a store, do the nearly-nude test. Dress to expose as much skin as is practical in order to know what the furniture feels like against your bare arms and legs. When purchasing online — know the return policy — purchase a few pieces and make final decisions by touch after everything arrives.

"No wire wesh, no wicker, no wooden slats, that's obvious... but get to know your subtle preferences in fabrics and textures the same way you do shape and color, make that knowledge part of your style." —Terah Collins

Light

Natural light is best, even at night — think moon glow and starlight. Then the soft glow of candlelight or a fireplace is preferable. When you must use artificial lighting, supplement with as soft and dim wattage as you can (go as low as seven watts). Install dimmers or rheostats and remember to stay away from fluorescent bulbs or direct overhead lighting.

"Your home is your personal theatre. The richest aspect of theatre is lighting." —Barbara Carrellas

Bedroom

The bed must dominate. Don't stack the bed with so many pillows that it becomes difficult to actually get into it. Consider things you can touch, such as sculpture, as well as paintings and prints. Mirrors are an interesting, and sexy consideration. Just be sure to create a way to cover them up, shut them away or curtain them off before going to bed. If you must have other media in the bedroom, be sure that it easily hides away or can be covered up when not in use. Don't surround the bed with photographs of loved ones. It's hard to be romantic with your extended family staring at you.

Awake to high-thread-count cotton sheets and a feather bed on top of the mattress. Wake up fifteen minutes earlier so that you don't have to rush into your day. Zen alarm clocks soothe you awake with gentle tones. Sunrise alarm clocks use ambient light. Arrange your bed so that the morning light lands on your face. If your outdoor environment sounds pleasing (birds or the seashore) sleep with the windows open. If not, use a white noise machine to drown out unpleasant city sounds. Give your ears time to adjust before bombarding them with the news.

"We should wake to a soft kiss from our surroundings, not a slap across the face." —Terah Collins

"One couple I counseled had pictures of their five daughters and 27 family members surrounding their bed. They couldn't remember the last time they had made love." —Terah Collins

Bathroom

Cold tile is unforgiving to naked feet. Use lush bath mats and area throw rugs. Everything in the room from mats to towels to robes should be soft to the touch. Choose a color for the walls that makes you look good. Most people don't look attractive against stark whites, cool blues and greens, pale pinks and bright yellows. Avoid harsh shadows by installing low-wattage light fixtures that create even sources of light on either side of you, slightly above eye level. Store away a makeup/shaving mirror for strong light as needed. Learn a bit about aromatherapy and select products that support a good mood for you. Bring in a small piece of upholstered furniture, if you have, for the space.

"Make the bathroom make you look beautiful." —Terah Collins

"Light candles around the tub, toss in some bubble bath and a few water pillows; turn the bathroom into a romantic space." —Barbara Carrellas

Kitchen

Have a beautiful bowl of fruit, an arrangement of flowers, or some kind of eye candy waiting to greet you as soon as you enter. Carefully select the first thing your fresh taste buds touch in the morning. Treat yourself to luscious strawberries and really good, dark roast coffee. If you're purchasing a table for the kitchen go for a round or a square shape with rounded corners. Get rid of things that are falling apart, such as chipped mugs and frying pans with loose handles.

"Dressing in $4,000 outfits but drinking economy coffee and eating canned fruit. What are you doing?" —Terah Collins

"Keep your underwear in the freezer for really hot days, like Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch." —Barbara Carrellas

Living Room

Arrange the room around the view, not the television. Consider the view from each sitting vantage point in the room. Is every view sumptuous or could it be improved by repositioning the furniture? Hang something on the wall with texture — a carving, a rug or a tapestry — instead of a framed piece of art. A beautiful throw on the sofa will make even the most uptight person reach out and feel it. But don't put so many pillows on the couch that it's actually difficult to sit down on it. Create three-dimensionality to the room by varying the levels of chairs, coffee tables, end tables and sofas. Chairs should be less than ten feet away from each other.

"We can't touch one another with our words if we're sitting too far apart to actually reach out and touch." —Terah Collins

Formal Dining Room

Many dining rooms suffer from being overly formal. People are often too worried about chipping, breaking, or scratching their surroundings to enjoy meals. Create atmosphere through ambient lighting: natural light for daytime meals and dramatic candlelight for sensual evening meals. Find sumptuous but durable tablecloths, place mats and napkins that feel good but clean easily so that you're not afraid of a spill. And while it's fine to have good china for special events, be sure to have a set of dishes you enjoy and are comfortable using in the dining room daily.

"Most dining room chairs were never meant to be sat on." —Terah Collins

"Go for beautiful, artistic candleholders and candles that invite you to light them." —Barbara Carrellas

Alternate Dining Areas

If your dining room has become more of a default storage bin, filled with reminders of all the unsorted areas of your life — this is not where you want to sit and have your meal. You need an intimate dining area that's a magnet for a quiet conversation or thoughtful time by yourself. Create a dining nook within the larger room by screening off a section with a beautiful fabric screen and a little carpet that defines the area. Or consider alternate, sensual dining spaces. Do you like to eat around the coffee table or in front of the fireplace in the winter? Why not dine in front of the very best view in the house, no matter what room it's in? Find a space that allows you to eat reclining or even lying down if that's what you'd like. Go ahead and eat where you want, but be deliberate.

"There's an Italian saying I'm fond of, 'Life is all about going from the bed to the table and the table to the bed.' "—Barbara Carrellas

Outdoor Space

It's wonderful to have an outdoor space where you're comfortable being naked and free from the neighbor's gaze to catch ten minutes of sun on your body. Create a sanctuary by building a private ivy-covered wall, or an outdoor shower open to the sky. Whether or not you choose to be naked there is up to you, but if there is an outdoor space where you could be naked, that's a retreat. Spend some time there journaling or enjoying a cup of tea. If your outdoor space is a balcony, privatize it. Install a retractable shade that lets in the sun, and a beautiful chez lounge. If your outdoor space is a windowsill, spice it up by growing herbs with scents. If you're using lavender oils inside, grow lavender outside. Get your bare hands in the dirt.

Romantic Fantasy

Imagine your ideal romantic fantasy. Be as creative and outlandish as possible. Is it a cave? A crystal palace? A tropical island? Ask yourself what would be in that space and find creative ways of replicating that. If you dream of a crystal palace, surround yourself with beautiful stones, rose quartz and amethyst. If you love the tropics put a gurgling water fountain in the corner. Keep what you need on hand and close by. Put a small fridge in the bedroom closet stocked with water, fruit, champagne, Gatorade or whatever enhances your particular romantic mood. If the refrigerator feels a bit too much like a motel to you, use an ice bucket and a couple of crystal glasses.

"Think like a theater director. Romance is enhanced by scenery, props, lighting and costumes." —Barbara Carrellas

Sweet Dreams

Take a shower or bath — more symbolic than hygienic—just before bed, to wash off the day. Cool off on a warm evening with a cold shower or warm up in a hot bath on a cold, wintery night. Put a drop of essential oil on a light bulb near the bed just before you bathe and by the time you return the room will be fragrant and welcoming. Consider the last things you see or hear before nodding off to sleep. Just as at the start of the day, soothing classical music sets a more peaceful stage than late night news or reading murder mysteries. Darkness is essential. Light pollution is the enemy of restful sleep. Blackout curtains or a soft silk scarf across your eyes are great solutions. Be careful about sleeping computers with continuously pulsing lights and glowing digital alarm clocks. The Zen alarm clocks mentioned earlier come in analog models. Sweet dreams to you. Enjoy your sensual Feng Shui adventures!

"When you love how your home looks and feels and you delight in the tastes, smells and sounds it offers — you've turned your home into a inspirational, rejuvenating sanctuary." —Terah Collins